A Better World
"A Better World" is composed of the the 37th and 38th episodes of . It originally aired on November 1, 2003. Plot Part I In an alternate dimension, the Justice League attacks the White House. Batman and Wonder Woman take on the Secret Service, clearing out a path for Superman to the Oval Office. Inside the Oval Office, President Lex Luthor frantically gathers up papers. Superman busts in, saying he's taking Luthor in for crimes committed in office. Half-mad, Luthor rants that he's not to blame, the people are, for not being able to see or accept his "grand design" for the world. In rage, he prepares to press a button that will start a nuclear war, saying the people will "burn" for their mistake. But then he calms himself, and waits to see what Superman will do: there is no way of stopping Luthor from pressing the button, short of deadly force. Superman hesitates, and Luthor mocks him, saying that Superman has been Luthor's greatest accomplice all along: he loves being a hero with all the glory so much that he continues to thwart Luthor time and again, rather than having the guts to end it once and for all. At that, Superman comes to a decision, saying that if this is the place that being a hero has led them to, he's done with it. His eyes glow red... Outside the Oval Office, a scream is heard, and Batman and Wonder Woman rush in, to stop dead in their tracks to see that Superman has incinerated Luthor. Batman masters himself and coldly says it had to be done. Wonder Woman asks Superman if he's all right; turning around, he reveals an unnerving grin on his face, and says, "I'm great." Some time later, Earth has become a very different world. Now calling themselves the "Justice Lords," Superman and his five remaining team-mates are now the effective rulers of the planet. It is revealed that the catalyst for the League's rebellion was the death of Flash, murdered as part of Luthor's schemes. Monitoring events from their new, heavily-armed Watchtower, they have taken over governments and subverted free speech, all in the name of the people's safety. After denying the current U.S. President permission to hold an election to choose his successor, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern are sent to disperse a protest in Smallville. Batman has retreated to the Batcave, claiming to be busy with a project. The mere appearance of Lantern and Hawkgirl causes the protesters to disperse, out of fear. Hawkgirl shows some doubts, wondering why they need to go to such lengths, when the world has already become a much safer place. Lantern says that they have to remain vigilant, and he's at ease with their actions. While Superman dines with Lois Lane, she too voices her misgivings about the Lords' fascist regime. Superman tells her that she's missing "the bigger picture," but their conversation is interrupted by Batman, who calls an urgent meeting with him and the others. As Superman leaves, Lois tries to follow him out of the apartment, only to be stopped by guards at her door. She berates the soldiers, and by extension the people of Earth, for being indifferent to what's happened to their world. In the Batcave, Batman shows the other Lords an image of the Justice League battling Lex Luthor. What they are seeing, Batman explains, is a real-time event from an "alternate reality" in which Flash is still alive, and the League is still playing its passive, law-enforcing role. Deciding that the alternate world needs their brand of law and order as much as their own, the Justice Lords decide to intervene. In the primary dimension, the Justice League continues to battle Luthor, who is ultimately beaten and sent back to prison. Shortly thereafter, the Lords' J'onn J'onzz emerges from a dimensional portal, saying he has been sent from an alternate reality by an embattled League that needs the "primary" League's help. Although the League has some doubts, they decide to trust him. Once they have emerged into the alternate dimension, they are quickly incapacitated by a trap. Hawkgirl, however, refuses to go down without a fight (a fact noted with some pride by her Lords counterpart) and is badly injured when Lantern has to knock her out. While Hawkgirl is taken for medical attention, the other League members are locked in a specially designed cell block. The Lords, with the exception of Batman, then cross over to the primary dimension, to impose order on the new world. It seems they arrive back just in time: the rogue behemoth Doomsday is on the loose. The Lords each attack, but none is a match for the creature except Superman. When it becomes clear that they are matched in strength and endurance, Superman ends the fight by lobotomizing Doomsday with his heat vision - much to the shock of Lois Lane. Watching this from prison, Luthor realizes that they aren't the true Justice League. Part II Back in the Lords reality, the Lords' Batman acts as gaoler to the rest of the League. Batman and Flash both berate him for the extremes to which the Lords have gone, but the Lords' Batman rejoins that such a thing could just as easily have happened to them if they were pushed far enough - for them, he admits, the push came with Flash's death. The Lords' Batman tells them not to bother with trying to escape, he's thought of everything their Batman would - which is to say, everything. But Flash's heart rate becomes erratic, and then stops altogether. The Lords' Batman rushes to the cell and opens it to see what's going on - before Flash knocks him across the room, and emerges from his cell to free the others. Batman says he didn't know that Flash could artificially manipulate his heart rate, while Flash confesses that he didn't either. Batman heads to his counterpart's Batcave, to activate the dimensional portal, while the rest of the League heads off to find Hawkgirl. As he nears the portal device, Batman is confronted by his counterpart, who has anticipated his moves. The two stalk each other through the cave, all the while debating the ethics of what the Lords have done. Batman says they have crossed the line by seizing power, and Lords' Batman rejoins that, with that power, they've made a world where no other eight-year-old boy will lose his parents to violence, as they did. At that, Batman drops his batarang, steps into the light, and declares, "you win." The League track Hawkgirl to Arkham Asylum, the only hospital equipped to hold metahuman patients. But the asylum is a far different place than the one from their reality: the staff are all former criminals, particularly from Batman's rogues gallery, all of whom are placid, docile zombies - apparently lobotomized by the Lord Superman. A very polite Joker is the superintendant. Pretending to be the Lords, the League asks to be taken to Hawkgirl. Joker requests a password, which J'onn gives by reading Joker's mind. Joker says they got it right, but apologetically triggers the alarm, because Wonder Woman was supposed to say it. Robot versions of the Lord Superman attack the League, but are easily defeated, and they break Hawkgirl out. Batman and Lords' Batman drive through Gotham City towards Arkham. When they stop at a red light, they see a restaurant, where a customer is arguing with the manager about the amount of his bill, and in short order is arrested by the police for disturbing the peace. Batman needles his Lord counterpart that "Mom and Dad would love it here," and the Lords' Batman says tersely, "just drive." By the time they reach Arkham, the military has been alerted and the League is barricaded inside. The Lords' Batman, by this time, has had a change of heart, and tells the military to back off. As the League prepares to return to their reality to confront the Lords, Batman wonders openly what they will have to do: the Lords are their equals in powers and intelligence, and they are willing to kill where the League isn't. Superman isn't willing to cross that line, but Batman says that some kind of line will have to be crossed if they mean to succeed. In the primary reality, the Lords have occupied the League's Watchtower, when they receive an alert of a prison breakout: Luthor has escaped. The Lords fly to the prison, but it is a trap set by the League. In the fight that follows, each League member fights his or her counterpart, and neither side is able to gain the upper hand. The exception is Lord Superman, whose own counterpart is mysteriously absent, and who ends up fighting Flash. Lord Superman is goaded so far that he is prepared to kill Flash to end the fight, but then Superman arrives with Luthor, who has perfected a power disruptor weapon. Luthor fires his weapon at each of the Lords, depriving them of their superpowers. He is tempted to turn the weapon on Superman, but remarks, "a deal is a deal," and hands it over. It is revealed that the League secured a presidential pardon for Luthor in exchange for his help in defeating the Lords, who are taken away to prison. Lord Superman rages that everything Luthor does from now on will be on Superman's head; Superman returns that he'll just have to deal with it. Luthor holds a press conference to field questions about what he'll be doing with his freedom. He says that business doesn't hold the same lure for him that it did before, but he wouldn't rule out a new career in politics... Continuity * Doomsday would later return in the episode, "The Doomsday Sanction," where it would be revealed that he was an altered clone of Superman. * In the same episode, Luthor follows through on his hints by announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Presidency; he would actually run during the Cadmus arc. * This episode proves to be one of the most pivotal in the continuity (similar to "Legacy" from ), providing the motivation for much of the events in the second season of , and the background for the particular events of the four-part season finale: ** The brief rampage of the Justice Lords is described by by Amanda Waller to be a major cause for the development of Project Cadmus. ** There are several references to the election of Luthor to the presidency and the murder of the alternate reality's Flash as the catalysts for the Lords' actions; *After becoming a prisoner/fugitive in "Injustice For All," Luthor is finally pardoned, and states that he's reformed. Background Information Production Inconsistencies * In "The Doomsday Sanction", Project Cadmus is credited with the creation of Doomsday. However, Cadmus itself was formed in reaction to the rampage of the Justice Lords. Also Doomsday's motive and personalty seem different (not just after Superman). Trivia * In Lord Batman's Batcave, the costumes of Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Batman's previous outfit are seen. * Lord Batman's costume bears a Bat-insignia on the chest similar to that of Terry McGinnis' Batsuit. * In the episode, "Divided We Fall," when Brainiac creates android replicas of the Lords, he adds an "evil" Flash, even though Flash had no Lord counterpart in the alternate dimension. * On the audio commentary for Part II, the writers state that these episodes were written in the days leading up to the invasion of Iraq. The writers noticed several similarities between the Bush Administration's policies and the Justice Lords and were very disturbed by the similarities. The writers also state they were not intending a parallel but rather a compelling story. * As a note to the above, The President who the Lord Superman speaks to following their fascist rule seems to be very much based upon real life President at the time, George W. Bush Jr. * In the commentary, Paul Dini states that the lines uttered by Lord Superman's robotic replicas are unpopular quotes spoken by Superman back in the first season. However, in reality, only two are paraphrases from lines said by Superman ― the others were never spoken. * This is the second time in DCAU to feature Batman fighting with himself (the first one being the H.A.R.D.A.C.'s duplicant in "His Silicon Soul"). In both cases, one side represents the free choice, and the other complete order and safety. In both cases, Batman wins by seemingly losing. * During their fight the Justice Lord Superman and Doomsday punch each other simultaneously. In the comics, this is what resulted in both of their deaths during the Death Of Superman story-line. Cast Uncredited appearances * Two-Face (Justice Lords' universe) * Ventriloquist & Scarface (Justice Lords' universe) * Penguin (Justice Lords' universe) * Ron Troupe Quotes Better World, A